The Austa NSW String Festival is an event designed to give young players the opportunity to perform in friendly, non-competitive and supportive environment. Participants are invited to play one piece either solo or with an accompanist to the best of their ability. Participants will play one by one in a small group with other players of a similar age and ability.

Unlike an eisteddfod there are no section winners and no first or second places. All participants will leave with a Certificate of Participation, a trophy and an adjudicators report. Each session is expected to take around 45 minutes.
The String Festival is open to any student of an AUSTA member. To become a member please visit www.austa.asn.au

Two exciting workshops will be presented:

“Stringersize”
Green has created a new innovative approach to technical exercise for strings based on simple exercises of scales, string crossings, articulations, shifting, vibrato, and more to popular music beats and videos. These sessions are ideal for music educators and string students and teachers of all levels.

“Bringing Music to Life”

Bringing Music to Life is an innovative imaginative methodology to bring spirit and life to music. The workshop parallels the Inner Game of music in that it teaches three master skills: Breath, Pulse and Movement that allow the performer to channel inspiration and life in music, through the body of the performer. The workshop
includes live musical coaching demonstrations with groups and individuals. YouTube clips illuminate how famous jazz, hip-hop, Latin, classical and chamber music artist including Joshua Bell, Tito Puente, Oscar Petersen, Kronos String Quartet and maestro Leonard Bernstein use these master movement and breath techniques. Be prepared to model, imitate, conduct, jam, scat, move and groove as you recreate the music and bring it to life.
Bring instruments.

https://www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=600124

Born in Melbourne, Fintan completed further study in Cologne with Helfried Fister, Christoph Poppen and the Amadeus quartet. He completed his Masters degree with Robert Gerle in Washington, D.C. Fintan was a member of the Melbourne Symphony for many years and now performs in concerto, recital and chamber music, collaborating with artists such as Goetz Richter, Stan Dodds, Elizabeth Sellars, Hartmut Lindemann, David Bollard, Ben Martin, David Selig, Janis Laurs, Christian Wojtowicz, Kees Boersma.

Fintan directs the Melbourne String Ensemble, a youth orchestra specializing in small ensemble repertoire and chamber music for strings. He has worked as a guest conductor for many youth orchestras including: the Conservatorio de Musica de Manresa, the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa and Junges Kammerorchester Stuttgart.

Fintan is a leader in the development of teacher training and instrument specific pedagogy both inside and outside the university system. Since 1994 he has developed and taught string pedagogy courses to undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Melbourne, Monash University and currently at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. He has supervised numerous post-graduate doctoral and masters students and presented over 350 seminars, summer schools workshops and conference presentations throughout Australia, the Asia-Pacific, Europe and the North America.

Fintan believes that students need to actively engage in the lesson if they are to make continual long term progress. His teaching practice leads students to ask questions so that they can learn how to teach themselves. It is important that they develop an understanding how the principles of playing relate to their own stage of development, to their own physique and their own motivations and goals.

The results of Fintan’s research are presented on the Violin Bow Technique website, on DVD and in text. His work with Skype as a teaching tool and experience giving masterclasses and seminars including in relatively remote parts of Australia and the Asia-Pacific, led to the publishing of 20 CD and DVD recordings. These recordings include Violin Bow Technique, Violin Left Hand, the Violin Alive series, Bridges, and The Soul of the Viola and have received glowing review in journals such the Strad and the American string teacher.

Fintan sees the importance of working with disciplines such as psychology, drama as well as sports training in order to develop rounded musicians who have healthy and satisfying careers. His collaborations with psychologists, health scientists, body use professionals have led him to publish peer reviewed articles in the journals such as the British, the Australian and the International Journals of Music Education. Fintan has edited eight books of graded violin repertoire for the Australian Music Examinations Board (series 7) and he has won many competitive grants including an Australian Research Council linkage grant.

Fintan is the joint editor of the string journal String Praxis and is the Chair of the Specialist Examining Panel for Strings for the Australian Music Examination Board. Fintan currently teaches violin and string pedagogy at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

10:30am:  A talk on wellbeing for music teachers and their students by Dr.John Kasinathan, child and young adult psychologist.
11:30am : AUSTA NSW’s Annual General Meeting

To Register: https://www.trybooking.com/BIADP 

Dr John Kasinathan

Dr Kasinathan graduated with First Class Honours in Medicine from the University of Sydney. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (FRANZCP) and holds Certification of Advanced Training in Forensic Psychiatry. He is an Accredited Supervisor in Forensic Psychiatry, an Accredited RANZCP Examiner and active member of the Committees for Therapeutic Interventions and Evidence-Based Practice, Special Interest Group in Child and Adolescent Forensic Psychiatry, Committee of the Faculty of Forensic Psychiatry, NSW Branch Committee and the Editorial Committee for Australasian Psychiatry. He holds Master’s degrees in Psychiatry (NSW Institute of Psychiatry) and Forensic Mental Health (University of NSW).

Dr Kasinathan is a Conjoint Lecturer with the School of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW; lecturing medical students and postgraduate Master’s students. He is a Visiting Fellow with the Centre for Mental Health Research, Australian National University (ANU). Dr Kasinathan is experienced in providing psychiatric reports and expert opinions to the Children’s Court, Family Court, Local Court, District Court, Supreme Court and Mental Health Tribunal in the ACT and NSW. He is a WorkCover NSW and Motor Accident Authority Trained Assessor of Permanent Impairment.

His specialist appointments are with Justice Health (NSW), as the lead Forensic Psychiatrist for the high-secure Adolescent Unit in the Forensic Hospital, the only Unit of it’s kind in Australia, and principal Forensic Psychiatrist to the only Youth Justice centre in the ACT. He is the lead Forensic Psychiatrist with the Forensic Mental Health Service in Canberra and has a private practice in Macquarie Street, Sydney. His expertise includes the assessment and management of mental disorders in adolescents and adults; including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, psychosis, PTSD, ADHD, sexual deviant disorders, autism spectrum disorder and issues related to intellectual disability.

Dr Kasinathan has presented at local and international conferences on topics relating to forensic psychiatry and mental disorders in adolescents and adults. He has completed formal courses on assessing violence risk, risk assessment in mentally ill persons, evaluating psychopathy and aggression management. His research interests include the prediction of imminent aggression in young offenders with a mental illness and screening for self-harm in prisoners. Dr Kasinathan holds full unconditional medical practitioner and specialist registration with the Medical Board in all States and Territories of Australia.